(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method suitably used for managing and possessing electronic money which is defined as an electronic symbol of currency, and a management and possession medium. The invention also relates to a recording medium for recording electronic money management and possession programs to be read by a computer.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, we have seen the developments of electronic money systems which enable business transactions to be made without using any cash. For an electronic money management and possession medium (electronic money transportable medium), a card unit (card type storage medium), more particularly an IC card incorporating an integrated circuit (IC), is usually used.
This IC card includes a data memory for storing electronic money. In order to classify electronic money according to currency and store the same, the data memory includes a storage area formed to store electronic money for each currency. For example, the data memory has storage areas including an area for Japanese yen, an area for US dollars, an area for German marks, and so on, which are formed to store electronic money according to currency groups.
With an IC card as an electronic money management and possession medium, the use of electronic money instead of cash leaves no unsettled accounts unlike the case of credits. Safety can also be increased if a security function is added. Further, since all the users can carry electronic money just like a purse (cash), different from the case of cash cards (and bankbooks), for example three or more members of a family can share one account.
In the near future, with the widespread use of electronic money, we may even be able to feel as if we are using cash when using electronic money. Accordingly, in our daily lives, we may mostly use an IC card as an electronic money management and possession medium which stores currency of only a single kind (i.e., currency of our own country).
However, there is a problem inherent in such a general IC card used as an electronic money management and possession medium. As described above, the data memory for storing electronic money includes a storage area formed for each currency. Consequently, electronic money is stored in a particular storage area corresponding to its currency without being classified.
For electronic money, one balance collected for each storage area can only be understood by numerical values. Consequently, if currency of only a single kind is used, electronic money cannot be classified and managed for various purposes. In other words, cash can be managed to be classified and used according to various purposes. For example, cash for food expenses is kept in one side of a partitioned purse and spare cash in another side, and the classified cash is used for each particular purpose. Different from cash, however, electronic money cannot be classified or managed according to various purposes because a balance can only be understood by numerical values.
Therefore, if electronic money is used, for example, even if we try to keep 5,000 yen as spare electronic money, we may use this money for food expenses without knowing it. Thus, the difficulty of planned management of electronic money is a problem to be solved for the general IC card.